Friday, March 20, 2009

New Websites Visit our Resources page for a listing of the new links we've added this week. 3:23:47 PM     Upcoming Events at HPL Saturday Storytime Saturday, March 21 2:00 pm Stories and activities for ages 3-5. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Monday Storytime Monday, March 23 6:45 pm Stories and activities for ages 3-5. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Toddler Storytime Monday, March 23 11:00 am Stories and activities aimed at 18 to 36 month olds. Toddlers and grownups attend together. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Toddler Storytime Tuesday, March 24 6:45 pm Stories and activities aimed at 18 to 36 month olds. Toddlers and grownups attend together. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Computer Class--Intro to the Internet Wednesday, March 25 6:00 - 7:30 pm Learn how to "surf the net", set up an email account, and find your away around cyberspace. Class size is limited. Please call ahead to register (231-722-7276). Registration starts on March 2. The class will be held at Hackley Public Library. Book Signing Saturday, March 28 2:30 pm Rose Hammond will be at Hackley Public Library to sign her new book, Idlewild and Woodland Park, Michigan. For more information or to register call HPL at 231-722-7276. Saturday Storytime Saturday, March 28 2:00 pm Stories and activities for ages 3-5. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Monday Storytime Monday, March 30 6:45 pm Stories and activities for ages 3-5. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Simple Sewing Repairs Monday, March 30 6:30 pm Learn how to make simple repairs to clothing and extend the life of your clothes. Nancy Hartman, who teaches sewing with the 4-H will demonstrate different techniques. Feel free to bring some of your own repair challenges. Please call ahead to register (231-722-7276) so we can be sure to have enough supplies. For more information or to register call HPL at 231-722-7276. Toddler Storytime Monday, March 30 11:00 am Stories and activities aimed at 18 to 36 month olds. Toddlers and grownups attend together. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Toddler Storytime Tuesday, March 31 6:45 pm Stories and activities aimed at 18 to 36 month olds. Toddlers and grownups attend together. Registration is required. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. Computer Class--Intro to Computers Wednesday, April 1 6:00 - 7:30 pm Introduction to computers will offer an introduction to what a computer is and how to use it. It is designed for beginners with little or no knowledge of computers. Topics covered will include an explanation of Windows and files, how to turn on a computer, and how to use the mouse. Class size is limited. Please call ahead to register (231-722-7276). Registration starts on March 1. The class will be held at Hackley Public Library. Be a Book Illustrator Saturday, April 4 2 PM Be an artist just like illustrator Patricia Polacco, whose work is on display in Youth Services. Every Polacco drawing reveals character and yours will too! Cathy Mott from the Muskegon Museum of Art leads the program. Please call the Youth Services Department at 231-722-7276 x 230. 3:21:47 PM     House Members Don't Respond To Governor's Call To Return 10% of Their Salaries; Only Two Senators Gave Back 3%. Michigan House members have balked at the idea of following Gov. Jennifer Granholm's lead and giving back part of their pay. The House Business Office said in a letter dated Monday it does not know of any of the chamber's 110 representatives returning money to the Michigan Department of Treasury. The Associated Press sought the information in a Freedom of Information Act request and got a response Tuesday. The secretary of the Senate last week said two Republicans in the 37-member Senate will give back 3 percent of their pay. Granholm, a Democrat, has returned 5 percent or 10 percent of her $177,000 salary every year since taking office in 2003 as Michigan has struggled with a weak economy and ongoing budget problems. She recently urged other elected officials to do the same, especially lawmakers, since they have so much say in the state budget. A state panel has recommended that legislators, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general take a 10 percent pay cut starting in 2011. But that will not affect many current officeholders because term limits require them to step down at the end of 2010. Lawmakers still have to approve the pay cuts this year or next or the panel's recommendations remain just that. Michigan legislators make $79,650 a year, second-highest in the country behind California. The 12 legislative leaders earn more depending on their rank. Granholm's salary is third-highest in the country. Democratic Lt. Gov. John Cherry, Republican Attorney General Mike Cox and Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land -- who are considering runs for governor in 2010 -- do not give back any of their pay to the treasury department. Cherry says he will give more of his $123,900 salary to charity. Land says she does not seek reimbursement for driving her own vehicle tens of thousands of miles each year on state business. Cox says he will give about 10 percent of his pay to a charity of the governor's choice if she creates a user-friendly Web site for the public to track state government spending. For the full article, see David Eggert, "No one in House to give back pay", Detroit Free Press, March 19, 2009. [Red Tape Blog] 3:15:20 PM

© Copyright 2009 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 4/1/2009; 2:33:46 PM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien